


Ten Years

by AsherWritesAStory



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Canon Universe, High School Reunion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 23:11:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18040877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsherWritesAStory/pseuds/AsherWritesAStory
Summary: Time passed by. Seconds to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and weeks to months.It passed by a little too quickly this time.But they were ready as they hopped on the plane to head back home to the not so quiet mountain town nestled up in the Rockies.It felt almost surreal if they were being completely honest with themselves.But when they stood in front of the old brick building that they caused so much trouble in for four years of their lives it all suddenly felt so real.





	Ten Years

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there. Check out my main and my writing Tumblr accounts :
> 
> Main : https://masked-vigilante.tumblr.com/
> 
> Writing : https://craigwritesastory.tumblr.com/

It was so hard to believe that it had actually been ten years since high school graduation had happened. 

Ten years since high school science fairs, school dances. Football games and marching band. Ten years since they had walked across the stage at graduation and received their diplomas.

It had been ten long years since they had been done and it was so unreal to even begin to believe that so much time had actually passed them by.

That saying was true, time really does fly right by… especially when you age from a teenager with hardly any cares in the world to a busy adult living their day to day life nearly doing the same thing day in and day out.

But by receiving the invitation to their ten year high school reunion in the mail neither one could believe it.

It had been far too long since they had seen everyone, not just their small friend group, and the memories came flooding back to them. And each memory brought a smile to their faces… no matter how weird they were.

Going to a prison because you were dressed as a Peruvian flute band, than actually going to Peru to stop an attack of giant guinea pigs… all while being out $100 of birthday money that no one paid him back.

A German made joke robot that was made to prove that they were a funny group of people, but in all actuality it killed a few people and wanted to destroy the world all thanks to Jimmy and his comedy awards. 

A campaign to stop directors from remaking their movies to be family friendly or politically correct, which somehow got misinterpreted as being an organization who wanted to free Hat McCullough from jail. Which then lead to a twitchy ten year old having a bazooka.

The underpants gnomes that reek swore up and down about and how they would come into his room at night to steal his underwear for whatever reason.

And then there was even that time Kyle had thoroughly convinced everyone that they needed to send a whale to the moon so he could return to his own kind there.

And that probably wasn’t one of their brightest ideas as children.

Time passed by. Seconds to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and weeks to months.

It passed by a little too quickly this time.

But they were ready as they hopped on the plane to head back home to the not so quiet mountain town nestled up in the Rockies.

It felt almost surreal if they were being completely honest with themselves.

But when they stood in front of the old brick building that they caused so much trouble in for four years of their lives it all suddenly felt so real.

They took in their surroundings; the building, the familiar landscaping, the football field, even the parking lot where Kyle snapped and finally beat up Cartman their junior year.

A light spring breeze greeted them, as if they were being welcomed back home after spending a decade apart.

But it felt strange. They had spent the first three years after graduation in Boulder, and the past seven on the other side of the states in Maryland.

They felt like strangers stepping foot on a foreign land for the first time even though they were born here, even though they grew up here and called this place their home.

Things certainly weren’t as chaotic as they were when they were here, and while they appreciated that, they also missed it.

So although they felt like they didn’t belong they knew they did. Because a comfortable nostalgia continued to wash over them as they continued to remember and reflect on all the crazy things that seemed to occur in this odd little town.

The adventures were what made South Park unique and unlike any other place in the world, and that brought a smile to their faces.

“Hey you two!”

That oh so familiar voice broke the two from their trance. It was a voice they could never forget, even if they hadn’t heard it in person for the past few years.

They both looked to their left slowly, their small smiles growing just a tiny bit bigger when they came face to face with their group of friends who had been with them through thick and thin, good times and bad.

Seeing them in person again really was something else. Being reunited after so long felt good after spending quite some time apart.

What they felt was the exact same feeling they felt all those years ago… It felt good.

And they knew the feeling was mutual when they saw the smiles that Clyde, Token and Jimmy kept plastered on their faces as they approached.

“Figured you two may have forgotten about us, or you would’ve just shrugged this off and decided to be no shows…” Clyde teased as he pulled his childhood friend into one of the biggest hugs Craig had probably ever received in his whole life.

But he didn’t fight it.

No.

Instead he gave in and hugged Clyde back just as tightly, maybe even a little bit tighter. He couldn’t help himself though. He missed his friend tremendously.

He felt Clyde grip at the fabric of his coat before pulling away and looking up at Craig as he patted his back.

“We’ve just been busy…” Craig confessed, avoiding the brunette’s gaze the best he could.

“I’m just giving you a hard time man, we know adult life has kept us all rather occupied lately.”

When Clyde finally let go Token reached out and shook Craig’s hand before pulling him for a quick hug, “how’s life been?”

“As good as it can be,” Tweek spoke up as he was being pulled into one of Clyde’s famous hugs that Craig had just received mere moments ago. “But we aren’t complaining!”

“Figured you guys would be inside and we would have to search for you in a never ending crowd of old classmates,” Craig spoke in his usual monotone voice.

“N- no,” Jimmy shook his head slightly before looking over one of his shoulders and lifting a crutch to point towards the football field, “we- we’re over… over th- th- over there.”

“We saw you guys arrive and figured we would come get you before you went in to the crowd.” Clyde beamed brightly, “we’re having our own mini reunion first.”

“I’m assuming your wives are here too?”

“Inside,” Token looked towards the school, “they’re socializing and reconnecting.”

Socializing and reconnecting. Technically that’s what they were doing right now. But they were doing it their way first. They were doing it in a way that they felt comfortable before the forced conversation came. Before they had to face everyone for the first time in ten long years.

“Now come on!” Clyde grabbed one of Craig’s hands and one of Tweek’s before pulling them along behind him as he began marching towards the bleachers.

Token and Jimmy following closely behind. They listened to Craig grunt and groan about how he wanted Clyde to let him go. They listened to Tweek giggle over Craig’s irritated reaction to what was happening. It was just like the old times. 

Clyde kicked open the old metal gate on the fence that surrounded the field and pulled them into the bleachers before sitting down. Everyone got situated and made themselves comfortable on the cold metal surface that they spent nearly every Friday night sitting on.

Their eyes all scanned the the empty field that was before them; remembering the sounds of people cheering all around them when the Cows won the playoff game in the Colorado area.

“So what’s been going on with everyone?” Token asked with what sounded like hesitance in his voice.

One might say this was forced conversation… and maybe it was. This was the first time the group had actually spoken in person for probably a good five years.

“Just working,” Clyde was the first to speak up, reclining back against the bleacher behind him. His hands went behind his head as he stretched out.

“Sa- same,” jimmy agreed.

Work. That’s all they did any more was work. But that was what adulthood did to people.

“Yeah same,” Tweek got comfortable against Craig’s side.

“What about you buddy?” Clyde nudged Craig’s side with one of his feet which the black haired man shoved aside.

Craig didn’t answer right away. In fact he turned his focus elsewhere for a bit. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky overhead, watching how the clouds shifted and the color changed as the sun started the set in the distance. 

_Ten years._

“Not much honestly,” he shrugged almost nonchalantly as a gentle breeze blew some stray strands of hair away from his eyes. “I’ve just been working, same as you guys.”

He finally brought himself to look at his friends before him, letting out a heavy sigh before speaking again, “I’m sorry we’ve been away for so long though…”

He felt guilty.

These were his friends. His close friends, his childhood friends. And for the past five years they hadn’t seen each other.

Yeah, they would text and they would call. But that was different.

“Craig,” Token placed a reassuring hand on one of his shoulders, giving it a light squeeze. “It’s okay.”

Token was trying and everyone could tell that he was. But it made Craig feel better about himself, even if it was the tiniest bit. He felt the tension in his shoulders slowly ease away as he allowed himself to relax just a little bit.

“We’ve all been busy man, you can’t be too hard on yourself…” Clyde tried to be reassuring, “we’re adults now and were being kept busy with adult stuff. That’s just what grown up life is like.”

Jimmy nodded in agreement, “ye- yeah.”

Tweek felt the tiniest traces of tears swell up in his eyes as he threw his arms around Clyde and Jimmy’s shoulders with a big smile on his face, “I’ve missed you guys so much!”

“And we m- m- missed you t-t-t-too.” Jimmy reached up, placing a hand on Tweek’s arms to give him a one armed hug.

“We’ll have to get together again more often after this reunion is over.”

“When schedules allow it I’m down!” Clyde did a celebratory motion, his fist going up into the air.

It felt good to be surrounded by friends. It felt good knowing that even after all these years apart that nothing had changed between them even as they grew up and drifted apart to do their own things.

“But I’ll always make time for my friends.”

Clyde put Craig in a friendly headlock, messing up his hair with his knuckles.

The black haired man struggled for a moment, trying to free himself from Clyde’s grip before the brunette eventually let him go.

“And that’s because you guys are stuck with me forever since we’re always going to be friends!”

Craig ran his fingers through his hair, moving it out of his face and styling it the best he could, “hurray…” he rolled his eyes, a grin spreading on his face. 

“Jerk.”

So the tallest of the five flipped him off, his grin growing a little wider and getting a little bit wider with each passing second.

The familiar location filled with familiar people made Craig feel just like a teenager again. A teenager who would sometimes get into trouble for being an idiot with his friends.

He licked over his bottom lip as he smiled, remember how dumb he and his, in Cartman’s words, ragtag group of friends really were back in the day.

Craig, Clyde, Jimmy, Token and Tweek had gone from this isolated little town in the Rocky Mountains to living in different parts of the United States. But no matter how far away they were South Park would always be home.

“What do you guys say we head inside and really make this reunion one to remember?” Clyde stood and stretch a bit as his eyes drifted towards the school.

There was a mischievous little twinkle in those hazel eyes of his that the others noticed when he looked back at them.

“What’re you planning Clyde?” Token raised a brow, watching his friend carefully.

“Nothing, nothing…”

“I hope you know that you’re a horrible liar.”

Clyde laughed quietly to himself but he said nothing as he slowly made his way from the bleachers, beginning his walk to the high school.

The others exchanged looks with one another, each person sharing the same worried expression before quickly standing and following after the brunette.

Ten years had passed by in the blink of an eye, sure, but there were some things that would never hangs no matter how old they got.

Friends are forever, no matter what happened or how far apart they were. They knew that they would always have each other’s backs.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone.
> 
> This is the piece I wrote for Growing Up: A South Park Zine and I wanted to also post it here so everyone could read it.
> 
> Thank you guys for taking some time out of your day to read this, it means a lot to me.
> 
> And, as always, feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.


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